Forra del Grigno

A very deep canyon with tumultuous water, in which two third of the gorge can't be reached by the sun and the blue sky is only a fleeting apparition... Even a torch can be really useful ! Excellent for those who think that canyoning is quite relaxing. Very difficult approach even if short.

WARNING! Artificial dam over the canyon.

Access
lower: run through the Valsugana from Trento until the junction for Strigno, overcome it keeping going on the main road and reach the village of Grigno. Park in the square of the City Hall.
upper: come back to the junction for Strigno, pass over the village and go on towards Castello Tesino - Pieve Tesino. Once in Pieve Tesino, turn right heading for Cinte Tesino. Immediately after the little village there's a cross-road; take the road on the left and a little after turn again on the left on a narrow asphalt road running down. After a few hundreds meters, at another junction, take the street on the right, even steeper, heading to a hut called "Maso di Luigino". The asphalt ends and the road leaves on its right a light slope, then a pole with an electric transformer and besides another hut, under the street on the left. The road becomes a steep and meandering slope and after some bents, when the road enters again in the wood, there's a parking near a curve on the left.

Approach: here come the problems... Cross the garden of a hut placed a few meters from the parking and take a path going down, but still remaining above the road which took us to the parking. In a few minutes pass over a little chapel and some meters after you'll find an arrow shaped sign with the indication "Sentiero per il ponte del diavolo" ("Path for the Devil's bridge" - the bridge cross the gorge at a height of more than 100 meters, do not use it as an access to the river !). A few meters after the sign, a very hidden trace of a path steeply descends on the left, inside the wood; follow this path (on your right flows a little affluent of the Grigno) until the edge of the gorge, where a little bit more evident path rises up on the right side of the river. Then the path descends on a narrow ridge until the bottom of a waterfall, where a chain let us enter into the gorge.

Coming back: just before the big marshy lake, where the gorge becomes wider, take a non asphalted road rising from the left bank. Once on the asphalted road, cover just a few meters and, near a bend on the left, take a mule-track going back to the village.

Note 1
We've been advised of the following situation: "A big landslide, after the third rope descent, completely obstructs the river bed. To overcome it, it's necessary to climb up on a little plate for about 10 meters (caution, really crumbling!), and then to rise up onto the top of the landslide, where there is a bolt with a maillon for the descent with the rope. The duration of the descent must also consider the time needed to overcome the slide."
Note 2
We probably found the gorge just thanks to a friend, there resident, who came with us until we arrived to the chain; if you go by yourself, estimate a pair of hours to find the access to the gorge, but they could result unsufficient. Otherwise act like we did. At Cinte Tesino ask for information at the local "pro loco" (village touristic information centre) and if you will be able to face the motherly instinct of the kind lady working there, who just can't understand why so many young people is so anxioues to dive into the "Devil's hole" (this is the local nickname of the canyon) you'll probably get the information you need: the fruiterer son is a canyoner. He, or at least a friend of him, will accompany you to the gorge. Italian great tradition of family...